Very antisocial in public areas

That they switch focus no matter what is annoying, and fixing that can take some time if earlier mmo are something one can compare to!

 

Let's examine UO as a point of refrence... because I don't think the people who played UO are any different than people who play sota. There were jerks in UO and there were nice people in UO. I dont think this is a jerk vs good guy scenerio, but rather an issue about our ability to hear what is going on around us.


Those of you how played UO, or a UO freeshard will know what I mean... because there were plenty of people who are eager to help other players. I still believe that is true in SotA.


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I mention this because every UO freeshard I've played, and when I played UO itself, it was quite common to ask a question to somebody and they would usually reply? In fact it is very rare when a person playing UO would just walk away from you and ignore you.

There must be a good explaination for this since many of the same people who pledged for this game also played UO. Sure some people are out working to make things comfortable to newbies, but when you aren't in the starter town what is happening to cause people to be so antisocial???

I for one notice that I am always doing something that distracts me from looking at the chat.

1. the chatbox isn't open by default and it only comes up when we hit enter.
2. When we chat with an NPC a new chatwindow opens up and we no longer see what others are saying.
3. Sometimes my game is running but I alt+tab to my webbrowser and am afk while people could be talking with me.

***************

Somebody above mentioned chat bubbles... was it easier for us to see the text over people's heads because we had such a top view perspective in UO? When we talk to NPCs we also zoom in so we are unable to see text appearing over people's heads around us too.

I am willing to make an educated guess that it was the visual perspective we had in UO that saw all the people chatting around us. It is hard to see text over a person's head if they are behind us in SotA, but UO saw a top down view of the world.

Would alternating text colors help for local chat? That way the first player that speaks shows up green text, the second yellow, the third blue, the fourth red... or is there some other way of doing it? Although if somebody is chatting with an NPC they have their own chat window. Should that chat window be allowed to hear all the local chatter? on one hand you need to listen to the NPC, on the other it could cause a person to ignore local chat. Is there a perfect solution to this?

 

Some people dont play to chat others up or socialize, some people like to just being able to see other people as has been mentioned in other posts. Its not being rude, people all play for different reasons.

Some people have chat off as others have stated, personally i dont have local on, just guild party and whisper.

 

I think for a start there needs to be less switching to NPC chat ONLY when we talk to an NPC.

Would be better if that chat displayed in a centre box or something in middle of screen (while we're zoomed in and focused on an NPC) and didn't stick itself right on top of all our other chat tab windows so we can't see what people are saying around us.

So, a special box for NPC chat that isn't on top of our regular chat window.

 

Chat bubbles wouldn't replace the chat window, but supplement it. It associates the speech with the speaker. If someone said "I've got a board you can have." 'behind' you that you only saw in the chat window, you could turn around and say "Thank you. Who said that?" to which they might reply "I did." and you'd know immediately, in a manner simulating the manner in which people normally pick people out of a crowd.

They should also be able to toggle them (Preferably with a hot key), as they can become overwhelming in a crowded area.

 

See my post above yours. If you ever played UO you would know that people always helped out even if it is just a quick answer just to say sorry I don't know. It is reasonable to believe the people are basically the same who play both games. So why are people more social in UO than they are in shroud?

Since I have seen a very clear difference between how players react to text speech in both games I must logically reject the simple answer that says "some people just don't play to chat". It is not likely it is a social issue, or a gaming preference. Seems more likely there is something hindering people from being more helpful.

 

Did you shower today?

 

why do you need pointers?

You need to wash really well under the arms, between the butt, and between the legs. Wash the hair with shampoo, and follow it up with a conditioner to really do it right. The rest just needs a quick scrub and rinse.

 

Never played UO but played EQ for over 10 years and i think back fondly of that time but like others have posted, with rose colored glass's. I like to think that people were nice like that but in reality they really wernt and like i said it has been suggested that you are having the same issue with the Rose Colored Glasses.

You can reject it all you like but its true, there is nothing wrong with the game , having to do with chat being seen or not, its just that people don't want to interact with a wide range of people as they "ust to" and alot of it has to do with guild chat, voice chat etc etc.

Just to test my statement i just stood in the bank area and in the crafting area and in the area around the trainer in Owls head, i said WTB tin for 10 minutes in each spot and i got no replies at all, be it no i dont have any or go away lol.

Not all people play to interact with others and thats a prime example right there.

 

If I don't respond it could be any of the following

1) I'm going to the bathroom
2) I'm chatting with someone else and not paying attention
3) I'm looking for a recipe online and don't see the SOTA GUI at all
4) I don't have a maple board and just don't feel like typing

either way. You can assume I don't have a extra maple board.

 

I vow to local chat

Suggestion to all: turn on local chat bubbles

 

Captain Jack wonders if you had your guild tag showing? Perhaps that was the issue?

Relax! Lol Captain Jack is only jesting with you, he couldn't resist after Daven's allusions the other day.

No, Captain Jack thinks this is entirely something different. There is a name for it, though he can't place his mind on it. You know when you go out, and you're all worried about how you look and there is one tiny hair out of place, so you turn around and go spend another 15 mins in the mirror trying to sort it out? It is like that. Captain Jack thinks they weren't ignoring you, but that you were placing too much importance on yourself being there when they weren't talking. No harm done.

 

Here is the thing.
I'm uber social and I always help out when I can. I'm one to always try to say hi in local chat if I meet someone in the wild. I've already given away 200k worth of money, resources and gear in R14.
So I'd be ideal for what you want, but in all likely hood I'd also not respond.

You were simply in the wrong place.
That is probably the least social spot in the game.
First there are simply too many people making such requests, 99% of which are rude if you do give them free stuff. Unless I recognize your name from the forums I'd simply assume based on experience that you are one of many freeloaders doing the rounds asking for resources and then calling me an idiot for being so naive. (Yes that has happened more times than I care to count).

Second if one does try to be social there one is always interrupted by all kinds of unrelated things. It quickly devolves into subtrees upon subtrees of random conversation usually leading to nothing.


So my tip would be:
A)
Go the few steps to FireLotus tavern, try there instead. The people hanging around in bars tend to be much much more social. (Must be the alcohol - you are my new bescht friend).
Or at least get away from that specific spot.
B)
If you want attention - jump. Go in front of people and jump up and down. If they are in the wrong chat or not paying attention then that usually does it.
When I want a response I do it all the time. It works.
Or if you want to be less obnoxious go in front and do emotes like waving.
C)
Do the pontificate emote so that one sees who is talking.
Due to the nature of local chat you hear voices all the time from other side of walls or whatnot. So I usually spin around and if I don't get a visual I will assume they are not interacting with me.
I will sometimes respond anyway but if you are visibly talking then I'd run up to you and start a conversation.


Happy hunting

 

I think this is a big key issue to find people to talk to. Having a place where people all seem to gather. The Banks in UO were great because it caused people to all gather in one spot and go through their bank box.

Although the other steps you mentioned are good tips as well. Because the crafting area of Owls head has lots of people gathered in one spot, and so does the skill trainer. I went to both places because they had the most people. The people in the crafting area were more likely able to help me because I needed just one more maple board. No replies.

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Chat Ping:
jumping up and down is really annoying. It would be nicer if we had a polite way to ask people a question. Perhaps we could have an emote to politely interrupt a conversation that comes with a noticeable, but not annoying ping sound. Let it be something that cannot be done over and over again so it doesn't grief the person.

Only one sound alert is needed for multiple people trying to talk to you. The other could just be a blinking chat tab to notify us that we are missing some text directed at us either by whisper or because a player had us selected when they sent the local chat. So rather than having people ping multiple times, let the ping be initiated by the player's client to notify that he has messages, and 3 to 5 reminder pings to come every minute or so, after that the player is listed as AFK if the player isn't actively doing anything in game.

 

I guess the rule of thumb here is that, while in a MMO don't expect an answer/response to your inquires.
While you might feel that it is rude to not receive a response, others might feel it rude you are running around the crafting area asking for supplies.(even meager, honest requests) As a lot of people will automatically jump to the conclusion that you are begging, especially if they are not familiar with you.

 

No that's not good enough. Players in UO use to help people because they wanted to keep new players around. They don't want people to leave. If you go to a UO freeshard you will notice that players actually give new players items.

So a "Young" title is actually very helpful as well because players want to have more people play the game. I can speak on behalf of most backers of Shroud of the Avatar in saying that we want to help new players join and remain in game.

 

Sounds like you are REALLY missing UO, might check back with them, seems that's the crowd you are looking for.

Honestly your posting looks to be just turning into troll postings, people have given you valid reasons and examples of why people are not talking and you refuse to acknowledge them at all but you keep banging the pot.

 

I noticed the same thing when I was getting started. I kept asking where to buy repair kits or how to fix my gear. Literally no one said anything about anything ever. I just assumed chat didn't work since we're early in alpha and I stopped talking too.

 

this response isn't good enough either. Saying to somebody GO BACK TO UO YOU TROLL isn't the type of response that is going to be helpful.

However notice the part after the criticism that offers a possible solution... ie. create a type of Young title ... or have a ping sound so people can be notified.



These forums are made for exactly the types of criticisms I am making. I am not bashing this game. I'm trying to help make it more successful. So please relax and go with the brainstorm.

As for my demanding tone... I'm talking like a straight forward American who is pretending to act like a concerned investor would. If I were a concerned investor on the board of directors I might make some statements that were bold and direct and would not tolerate second best. So that is my motivation for saying "not good enough". Really to say it go back to another game is not the way I would expect portalarium would respond to this issue.

 

The community of a freeshard that has been running for years and years is not the same thing as the first-day community of a fresh wipe in a prealpha. Give it five years with no wipe, then it will be comparable. You're just stressing too much